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Find a packet of something labeled K2 in your teen's pocket and need to know what it is?
Think your aging parent took an extra dose of her medication?
Wondering if you need the ER for that painful scorpion sting?

In each of these cases, the easy answer to "Who you gonna call?" to get dependable information is 1-800-222-1222. That's us, the nation's poison control centers, where you receive free and confidential expert advice from medical professionals.

March 20-26 is National Poison Prevention Week, so we decided to tell you a little more about who we are and what we do.

The state of Arizona has two poison centers. In all counties of Arizona except Maricopa, the 1-800-222-1222 number rings in to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in Tucson. The center staff includes clinical pharmacists and toxicologists, emergency and pediatric physicians, and nurses and genetic counselors. They stand ready to help you - and advise your doctor if needed - when you've been exposed to any substance that might harm your body.

We handle about 65,000 exposures to adults, children and pets a year. These range from someone wanting to know the side effects of their pills to toddlers swallowing a cleaning product to helping ER doctors treat a rattlesnake bite.

Our round-the-clock center serves many audiences, including you the general public, private physicians, hospital emergency and intensive care units, firefighters and HAZMAT experts.

Sometimes people don't think poisonings happen much. But anything, even drinking water, can be a poison. It just depends on the dose. Substances that are safe in most instances can be deadly when misused or in a certain combination of circumstances.

And there are new substances to deal with every year. Lately, we've done several media interviews helping educate southern Arizonans about the dangers of products like fake weed (also dubbed K2 or Spice), which was just made illegal to sell or use here, and so-called ‘bath salts,' a hallucinogen that still is available for sale. This past week, with the tragic events in Japan, we've been getting calls about radiation poisoning. We have expert information to share on a really wide variety of health issues.

The Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is a member of the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Here's some news from AAPCC. In late March, they will release an iPhone application to allow users to connect with the nearest poison center with a touch of a button. Similar apps for other smart phones, including the Blackberry and Droid, will soon follow. Check www.aapcc.org for the apps.

In the meantime, add the 1-800-222-1222 number to your cell phone contact list. If you haven't got it there now, put it in. Someday when you least expect it, you'll be glad to have our number.